THE GRAPEVINE

Maula in India

It seems that it’s finally happening. After its release got stymied by rightwing groups a year ago in India, the Bilal Lashari-directed The Legend of Maula Jatt will be shown in Indian cinemas from this month (September). It is indeed a good omen. It may open the doors for Indian movies in Pakistan, too. If that happens, Bollywood in Pakistani cinemas could give the financial boost to the local industry that it needs. Let’s not speak too soon, though. Let Maula do its magic in India first.
Harassment Condemnation

Recently, an extremely disturbing video of a man on a motorbike — with his young son sitting in front of him — harassing a burqa-clad woman went viral. It enraged, rightfully so, a lot of people, including some showbiz celebs such as Zara Noor Abbas, Faiza Saleem and Mariyam Nafees. Mariyam Nafees made an apt point by saying, “And that, ladies and gentlemen, is a fully covered woman.” Indeed! Harassment has nothing to do with your choice of clothing. It has only to do with the harasser’s mindset.
New YouTuber

Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo took the internet by storm last week when he launched his own YouTube channel, called UR Cristiano. It contains content from his life journeys and commentaries on sporting events — sounds interesting. Most people agreed. In one-and-a-half hour, yes, just 90 minutes, he was able to gain one million subscribers. Wow! One million. Wait. What’s so surprising about it? The star soccer player is used to dealing in millions, no?
Animal Lover

Rajkummar Rao comes across as a gentle artist. He probably is. But he also loves the ultraviolent film Animal. The ‘but’ here is for the dramatic effect of this news item; he is free to like whatever he wants. He says, “I loved Animal, the experience of watching the film. I enjoyed it. Did I have some issues with the film? Maybe. Some scenes here and there, yes. But did I not enjoy the film? I loved Ranbir Kapoor in it, and his performance in the film was mind-blowing.” Alright then… does this mean that Rajkummar R wishes to do a similar character? Considering his physical appearance, it may be a smaller animal.
What’s in a Name!

On August 20, actress and singer Jennifer Lopez filed for divorce from two-time Oscar winner Ben Affleck. It’s official. The rumours about their split, which had been doing the rounds for months, have now been validated. That’s the end of what had been dubbed ‘Bennifer 2.0’, which had given hope to some that true love could always get a second chance — they got back together after first becoming a pair 20 years earlier — but their marriage lasted only two years. In the court filing, the Latina performer has specifically requested a change in her name from Jennifer Lynn Affleck back to Jennifer Lynn Lopez. Hmmm… well, J.Lo always sounded better than J.Af.
Swift Apology

On August 21, Taylor Swift was to embark on her Eras Tour in Vienna but reports of a planned terror plot threw a spanner in the works and, to the disappointment of her fans, she had to cancel three concerts in the Austrian city. Now the pop star has come up with her response to the whole situation: “The reason for the cancellations filled me with a new sense of fear, and a tremendous amount of guilt, because so many people had planned on coming to those shows. But I was also so grateful to the authorities because, thanks to them, we were grieving concerts and not lives.” Wise girl. Always politically correct and socially relevant.
Published in Dawn, ICON, September 1st, 2024